Paap family

The Paap family is the second family of De Vrienden. The family descends from a Greek Orthodox household from the Peloponnese that fled Ottoman rule in 1770 and later settled in the Dutch Republic. The family adopted the surname Paap after its settlement in the Netherlands. During the 18th and 19th centuries, several branches became active in maritime trade and transport.

Origins

The earliest established generation was headed by Nikolaos Nikolopoulos, a Greek Orthodox merchant who traded olive oil and wine, and his wife Despina Papadopoulou. They had eight children.

Their eldest son was Martinos Nikolopoulos. Georgios Nikolopoulos also survived into adulthood. Their sisters Aikaterini Nikolopoulou and Eleni Nikolopoulou survived the family's flight as well. Four other children died before or during the family's departure from the Peloponnese.

The surviving household fled in 1770 and eventually reached the Dutch Republic. Despina died shortly after their arrival, while Nikolaos remained with the family in the Netherlands.

Adoption of the Paap name

After settling in the Netherlands, the Nikolopoulos family gradually adopted the surname Paap. Martinos had previously recorded the word "Paap" in a religious vision. The same word later became associated with the family in Dutch usage because of their conspicuous Christian observance.

Members of the family regarded the appearance of the same name in the Netherlands as confirmation of Martinos's vision. Paap subsequently became the hereditary surname used by the Dutch branch.

Martinos married Eleni Anagnostopoulou. Their children included Melchior Paap, who became the first Great Paap.

Book of Paap

Martinos wrote the Book of Paap in Greek. The text was heavily influenced by the Bible and described a future confrontation between two Paaps. One was described as a Paap of light "who had lost it all", while the other was a Paap of darkness "who took it all". Martinos wrote that their confrontation would decide the fate of the world.

The book stated that the Paap of light would bear the name Hugerinus and have a four-letter first name.

Martinos was later praised within the family as "the one most true Paap". Most relatives respected him as a wise and devout member of the family but did not fully believe that the confrontation described in the book would ever occur.

Melchior Paap became the first Great Paap and inherited responsibility for preserving the Book of Paap. The title originally passed through his descendants by primogeniture. Its religious function weakened over later generations, while the Great Paap continued as head of the family.

Early development

The surviving branches developed separately after settlement in the Netherlands.

Aikaterini Nikolopoulou married Pieter Kromhout in Zaandam and converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Protestantism. The couple later moved to Rotterdam.

Georgios Nikolopoulos also settled in Rotterdam, where he became a maritime merchant. He remained Greek Orthodox and married Cornelia Verzee. His descendants formed the branch later known as the Hugerinus lineage.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, other members of the family became active in shipping, transport and trade. Later generations also established themselves in Germany and the United Kingdom.

Family lineages

Primary Paap lineage

The primary Paap lineage continued through the descendants who retained the Paap surname after the family's settlement in the Netherlands. The Great Paap developed within this line and remained the head of the wider family.

Hugerinus lineage

The Hugerinus lineage descends from Georgios Nikolopoulos.

Georgios named his son Aris Hugerinus Paap after the name Hugerinus used in the Book of Paap. He chose the name because he considered it meaningful, without knowing that his descendants would continue using it.

Later members preserved Hugerinus as a family naming tradition and followed the rule that its bearers had four-letter first names. Mark Hugerinus Paap was later identified by believers in the Book of Paap as the Paap of light described by Martinos.

Jan Paap lineage

The Jan Paap lineage developed from Jan Paap and his descendants.

Jan had been expected to inherit the position of Great Paap, but rejected the Book of Paap and the traditions attached to the title. He did not believe Martinos's prophecy and wanted the Paap name to become the basis of a powerful family without being governed by the old religious tradition.

The Book of Paap contained the statement:

"When the next Paap rejects the book, the darkness begins its final crusade."

Later believers interpreted Jan's rejection as the event described in the passage. Eef Paap, one of Jan's sons, was later identified as the Paap of darkness.

Association with other principal families

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, members of the Paap family became acquainted with members of the Noord family, Van Hetten family, Hoos family and Schroeter family in the Netherlands.

These relationships later formed the family network associated with De Vrienden.

Postwar period

Following the Second World War, branches of the Paap family continued to live in the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom. The position of Great Paap continued as the formal leadership of the family.

The Hugerinus and Jan Paap lineages later became central to the interpretation of Martinos's prophecy through Mark Hugerinus Paap and Eef Paap.

Members

A comprehensive list of documented members is maintained at Paap family members.

See also

• Paap family members
• Book of Paap
• Great Paap
• Hugerinus lineage
• Jan Paap lineage
• Noord family
• Van Hetten family
• Hoos family
• Schroeter family